1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus and an ink tank used in the ink jet printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printing apparatus of an inkjet type, such as an inkjet printer, for example, in order to perform color printing, a plurality of ink tanks are used. Such plurality of ink tanks may be configured to be individually attachable to a tank attachment part such as a carriage. Also, in this configuration, so-called incorrect attachment may occur, in which an ink tank is attached at an incorrect attachment position. Accordingly, it is preferable to provide a determination function that determines whether or not an attachment position of an ink tank is correct.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-181717 describes that, as processing for determining whether or not an attachment position of an ink tank is correct, a light emitting part provided on the ink tank and a light receiving part provided on a printer main body side are used to perform optical checking processing. Also, the optical checking processing enables incorrect attachment of the ink tank to be determined.
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-181717, when the ink tank is attached to a carriage of a printer, the light emitting part provided on the ink tank and the light receiving part provided in the printer are covered by a main body cover. However, depending on use environment of the printer, outside light may enter from a gap of the cover, such as one on a feed tray or discharge tray side. If, in such an environment where the outside light enters, the above-described optical checking processing is preformed in a situation where an amount of the outside light is large, the light receiving part detects the relatively intense light, which may cause a determination error. Also, in the case where the optical checking processing is configured to be performed with the main body cover being opened, it is thought that the determination error due to the outside light is further likely to occur. Accordingly, it is preferable to reduce the influence of the outside light in the optical checking processing.
It is also preferable in such a printer to simply inform a user of pieces of information on a state of the ink tank, such as a remaining amount of ink in the ink tank and a result of the determination of a correct/incorrect attachment position by the optical checking processing.